


Hibernation

by ThatMasterOnline



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-29 00:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21145646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatMasterOnline/pseuds/ThatMasterOnline
Summary: Crowley makes a mistake on a fine winter's day.





	Hibernation

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Inseparable](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20569271) by [aretia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aretia/pseuds/aretia). 

Sometimes, Crowley got bored waiting for his angel. "I'll be just a minute," he'd say, and then minutes would turn into hours and Aziraphale would show no sign of getting up. And so, one fine winter's day when Aziraphale had abandoned him with no sign of coming back, Crowley got bored. And, as any bored demon is wont to do, he found something to do with himself. Today, that something was to turn into a snake. He could explore the shop from another angle, scare off potential customers, and nap more comfortably while he waited for his angel. It was perfect. And so, one fine winter's day, Crowley transformed into a snake in the bookshop. 

Here's the thing about snakes: they're cold-blooded. Humans are not. Sadly, Crowley only remembered that after he was in snake form, and he only remembered it because it was a _fine winter's day_ and his body, with no source of warmth to regulate its temperature, was rapidly cooling. He wanted to change back, but he couldn't. He was too cold. 

_Shit_, he thought, _Shit shit shit shit_. He slithered underneath a bookshelf, where at least the breeze couldn't get to him, and curled up as tightly as he could to wait until his angel came out. Or, worst case scenario, until spring. If the ninth circle of Hell couldn't freeze a demonic snake to death, a London winter didn't stand a chance, he'd simply go into hibernation and sleep until it warmed up. Or, again, until his angel found him and sat him by the fireplace or something.

Already he could feel his body slowing down, responding to the cold. Damn, this winter was a nasty one. Hibernation it was, then. With his long body curled up around itself as tight as it would go, Crowley drifted off into a heavy sleep.

(As it turned out, Crowley did still manage to scare off a few customers. Snakes don't have eyelids, so when customers saw what looked like a snake _awake_ and _watching them intently_ they turned and bolted right out of the shop. They didn't know he was actually asleep and completely unaware of their presence. To be honest, it might not have mattered. People tend to run from snakes, whether they're awake or not.)

***

At shortly after two pm (seven hours after Aziraphale had initially said "I'll be out in a minute" and six hours after they were meant to go for breakfast), Aziraphale stepped out of his little office.

"Crowley, dear, I'm so terribly sorry, the time completely slipped away from me! I suppose it's lunch we'll be meeting for now...Or, what is that adorable nickname humans have for this sort of thing? Ah, brunch. Shall we go for a spot of brunch? ...Crowley?" A quick glance around the shop confirmed that Crowley was nowhere to be found. He supposed Crowley had gotten tired of waiting and left, but he never did without at least leaving a note. He worried for all of five seconds, because all it took was a cursory stroll around his bookshop to notice the giant snake curled up under a bookshelf.

"Crowley?" When the snake didn't respond, Aziraphale knelt down, staring intently. Crowley had an unfocused look in his eyes that said he was sleeping.

"Crowley, dear, I'm sorry, I lost track of time. We can go out for lunch now, if you're still in the mood." When Aziraphale received no response, he started to worry - again. Crowley always woke up when Aziraphale spoke to him. If he wasn't, then...hibernating? That didn't make sense either, why would Crowley hibernate before a breakfast date? Well, Crowley didn't deserve to sleep under a cramped bookshelf, he deserved comfort. He gently pulled Crowley out from under the bookshelf and carefully wrapped him around his shoulders. He was heavy, but not uncomfortably so. Then he went to sit by the fireplace with a book to read. Snakes were cold-blooded, so the fireplace would keep him warm while he slept. ...Until spring? No, he must be missing something. 

Aziraphale fell into his book, as he always did, and when he looked up he saw daylight streaming in through the windows.

"Crowley?" He tried, but the snake remained unmoving on his shoulders. He supposed he ought to open up shop. Sighing, he stood, with Crowley still hanging from his shoulders, and went to the door, flipping the sign. 

He had a few customers come in, but the giant snake ensured they didn't stay long. In the end, Aziraphale simply moved his reading to the chair in the shop. With customers able to look in and see the snake directly from the windows, he didn't get any more customers. He had one brave soul tentatively open the door, but Crowley chose that moment to hiss out a breath, and the potential customer thought better of themselves and shut the door. Aziraphale went back to his book.

He closed up shop early so he could move back to the fireplace where Crowley would be warmer, and he sat there all night long. He finished his first book and stood to grab a whole stack, expecting to sit for quite a while.

The next day, and the day after that, were especially brisk, so Aziraphale kept the shop closed so he could stay by the fireplace and keep Crowley warm. Midway through the second day Aziraphale decided to read aloud. Crowley never liked reading, but being read to was always nice. He had heard Crowley reciting stories to young Warlock to help get him to sleep, so it couldn't be all bad. 

The next day (day five of Crowley being asleep), Aziraphale decided to get a space heater to keep Crowley warm. He had no objections to sitting by the fireplace until spring, but he had to keep up appearances and open the bookshop. He wanted to go out and buy one the human way (nevermind that he would simply miracle the necessary cash into existence in a very not-human way), but he wouldn't leave Crowley alone, so he decided to use his miracle to make a space heater appear in the bookshop. Because Aziraphale was so obsessed with appearing normal, the space heater miracle also included the necessary wiring and a single wall outlet for it to be plugged into. Aziraphale decided Crowley would be pleasantly surprised, when he woke.

On day six, Crowley moved. Aziraphale yelped when he felt the squeeze around his neck, more from shock than anything. 

"Crowley!" Crowley ignored him, moving sluggishly, feeling out the terrain, as it were. When Crowley had finally settled himself somewhere comfortable, it was with the bulk of his body wrapped around Aziraphale's middle, the tail wrapped firmly around the upper part of the angel's left thigh, and the "neck" wrapped once - loosely - around Aziraphale's neck and the head resting on his shoulder, snout pressed into the soft spot just above the angel's right collarbone. 

"...Crowley?" Aziraphale didn't get a response, but the fact that he was moving was an encouraging sign. He decided then to keep the shop closed for the next few days and worry about getting Crowley warm enough that he might wake up. He hadn't opened the shop yet, and now that he had decided that he wouldn't, he moved back to the fireplace with the mug of cocoa he had gotten up to get. Reaching behind him, he gently took one of the coils wrapped around his back and shifted it around to his front. Then he sat gingerly on the seat, making absolutely sure he wasn't accidentally sitting on Crowley, then pulled out his book and kept reading.

Day bled into night, and night bled into morning, and morning bled into afternoon. Aziraphale had devoured his second book and moved onto a third. He was two chapters in when he heard a hiss. And then another, with words mixed into it.

"Ssssssswarm…" 

"Crowley? ...Warm? Oh dear, is it too warm? Here, let me move away from the fireplace, oh, and I should turn off the space heater, I'm sorry, I hadn't meant-" The next hiss was **definitely** a warning. A _Don't you dare_ if there ever was one.

"...Are you sure you're alright?" Aziraphale asked, but now that he was sitting back down, albeit slowly, Crowley's hissing had lost his warning edge.

"Sssssssperfect, angel. Nicccccccce…" Aziraphale sighed.

"That's good to hear, Crowley. Can you talk, or do you need to sleep more?"

"Nah...m'alright now...Thankssssss, angel…"

"Crowley...what happened? We were going to go out for breakfast, and I lost track of time, but when I came out…"

"Wasssssssssstupid. Wanted to change, sssssssee the shhhhhhop from another angle, ssssssscare ssssssome cusssstomerssss. Wassssssss too cold, I couldn't change back. Went to ssssssssleep. Hibernating. Thankssssssss for warming me up." Aziraphale smiled fondly, but the worry in his eyes persisted.

"I'm glad you're alright, Crowley. Are going to change back, or…?"

"Not right now. 'Ssssssswarmer assssss a sssssnake, the warmth sssssseepsssss in fasssster. Bessssidessss, you're warm, angel. You're body'ssssssss nicccccccce...Sssssssquishhhhy and ssssssoft...and your aura is sssssso warm…like a heated pillow…" Aziraphale sighed, but stayed where he was.

"Alright. But only because you were...only because you're slightly weakened right now. You using my body as a giant tree to sleep on is not going to become a regular occurrence, understand?" Crowley couldn't smile, but his tone held an indulgent disbelief in it all the same.

"Sssssssssssure, angel. Whatever you ssssssssay."


End file.
